British Indian cop wins court battle to clear his name

COP-ING WITH TROUBLE: An employment tribunal ruled Virdi was victimised when he was turned down for promotion in 2005.

Featured Blog

Rajdeep Sardesai

Television, for politicians with a vision

Featured Slideshows

Related Headlines

powered by

• Racism taint forces UK top cop to quit
• Woman top cop accuses Scotland Yard of racism
• British-Asian officer accuses Scotland Yard of racism

Keywords: London, Racism

London: Detective Sergeant Gurpal Virdi served the Metropolitan Police for over 25 years fighting crime and injustice. However, it's the fight against the injustice within the police force that proved to be more difficult for the British Indian officer.

On Monday, an employment tribunal ruled that Virdi was victimised when he was turned down for promotion in 2005 on grounds of previous litigation. The tribunal has ordered the Metropolitan Police to pay £70,000 to Virdi as compensation.

“It’s the matter of being satisfied that the truth has come out and it is being acknowledged. But discrimination and racism does exist in the police service,” says Virdi.

This isn't the first time that Virdi has made a successful claim against his employers.

He had been wrongly accused of sending a racist email and was sacked. In 2002, he was reinstated and his case is still considered by many to be a turning point in race relations within the police force.

Virdi's case in 2000 led to an independent inquiry, which made several recommendations to improve working practices within the Met. However, Virdi says, it’s been little more than lip service.

“Most of these issues are gathering dust in the police service and nobody seems to notice it also,” says Virdi.

The Metropolitan Police has appealed against the latest ruling and the final ruling is expected in the next few weeks.